If you're looking for companies that might rebound on an earnings releases, the following list might offer an interesting starting point.

Among the stocks releasing earnings next week, we present a list of the sixteen worst performers according to this past quarter’s performance.

Are these candidates for positive earnings surprises? Use this list as a starting-off point for your own analysis.

Earnings date and all other data sourced from Finviz.

List sorted by quarterly performance.

1. Xyratex Ltd. (NASDAQ:XRTX): Data Storage Devices Industry. Market cap of $346.10M. The stock has lost 26.31% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/31/11. The stock has performed poorly over the last month, losing 13.21%.

2. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD): Restaurants Industry. Market cap of $415.19M. The stock has lost 17.89% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/31/11. The stock has lost 12.64% over the last month. 3. Houston American Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT:HUSA): Independent Oil & Gas Industry. Market cap of $456.07M. The stock has lost 16.32% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 18.11% (equivalent to 24.54 days of average volume). The stock has lost 17.83% over the last year.

4. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM): Farm Products Industry. Market cap of $674.0M. The stock has lost 16.09% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. Relatively low correlation to the market (beta = 0.46), which may be appealing to risk-averse investors. Short float at 28.05% (equivalent to 28.00 days of average volume), implying the stock is a short squeeze candidate. The stock has lost 20.97% over the last year.

5. Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE:PVH): Apparel Clothing Industry. Market cap of $3.79B. The stock has lost 15.50% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. It's been a rough couple of days for the stock, losing 6.38% over the last week.

6. Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV): Recreational Goods Industry. Market cap of $355.76M. The stock has lost 11.45% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 10.45% over the last week. 7. CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX): Auto Dealerships Industry. Market cap of $7.36B. The stock has lost 9.11% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/31/11. After a solid performance over the last year, KMX has pulled back during recent sessions. The stock is 4.7% below its SMA20 and 3.41% below its SMA50, but remains 16.18% above its SMA200. The stock has performed poorly over the last month, losing 11.4%.

8. Layne Christensen Co. (NASDAQ:LAYN): Heavy Construction Industry. Market cap of $639.55M. The stock has lost 6.92% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/30/11. The stock has gained 14.43% over the last year. 9. Immucor Inc. (NASDAQ:BLUD): Diagnostic Substances Industry. Market cap of $1.33B. The stock has lost 6.49% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. The stock has lost 14.01% over the last year.

10. Stonemor Partners LP (NASDAQ:STON): Personal Services Industry. Market cap of $417.74M. The stock has lost 6.48% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/29/11. The stock has gained 58.1% over the last year. 11. Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI): Diversified Electronics Industry. Market cap of $2.41B. The stock has lost 5.97% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/30/11. The stock is a short squeeze candidate, with a short float at 9% (equivalent to 9.82 days of average volume). The stock has gained 32.7% over the last year. 12. Gafisa S.A. (NYSE:GFA): Residential Construction Industry. Market cap of $2.74B. The stock has lost 3.05% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. This is a risky stock that is significantly more volatile than the overall market (beta = 2.47). Short float at 5.53% (equivalent to 5.01 days of average volume), implying the stock is a short squeeze candidate. The stock has lost 13.11% over the last year.

13. Cascade Corp. (NYSE:CASC-OLD): Farm & Construction Machinery Industry. Market cap of $483.66M. The stock has lost 2.06% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/31/11. After a solid performance over the last year, CASC has pulled back during recent sessions. The stock is 4.52% below its SMA20 and 7.91% below its SMA50, but remains 11.93% above its SMA200. The stock has performed poorly over the last month, losing 11.03%.

14. Resources Connection Inc. (NASDAQ:RECN): Management Services Industry. Market cap of $845.20M. The stock has lost 1.34% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/31/11. After a solid performance over the last year, RECN has pulled back during recent sessions. The stock is 4.01% below its SMA20 and 7.85% below its SMA50, but remains 14.98% above its SMA200. The stock has gained 0.82% over the last year.

15. Ameron International Corporation (NYSE:AMN-OLD): General Building Materials Industry. Market cap of $703.18M. The stock has lost 0.73% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/28/11. The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 5.98% over the last week.

16. UniFirst Corp. (NYSE:UNF): Consumer Services Industry. Market cap of $1.07B. The stock has lost 0.46% over the last quarter. Earnings to be released on 03/30/11. The stock has lost 2.72% over the last year.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.